Chapter 67: Those sent on a journey
Those who are sent on a journey should commend themselves to the prayers of all the community as well as of the superior, and, at the last prayer of the work of God in the oratory, there should always be a momento of all who may be absent. (From Ch. 67 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
Sometimes my journeys are the undesirable ones of wandering from life-giving routine, from loving spiritual discipline. But the "momento" of my true identity in Christ always waits on the altar of my heart.
There is a comment made by Joan Chittister regarding this chapter that I would like to share because I find it hitting me deeply. "No one walks through life unscathed. It calls to us for our hearts and our minds and our very souls." And that "whatever happens...we must remember to start over and start over and start over....."(Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality For The 21st Century, p. 288) I cannot forgot that I am a nomad in this life, always on a journey and nothing is permanent except, as John Main explains, "the rock who is Christ." My daily meditation helps me to find him this rock in my heart and to respond with my life rooted in love (Silence & Stillness, p. 113). Every day, twice a day , I start over and over and over.
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